Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien will be out of action for at least five months after rupturing an anterior cruciate knee ligament. The Chelsea website said Essien had sustained the injury playing for Ghana against Libya in a World Cup qualifier last Friday and would undergo surgery once the swelling had subsided.
All the three were members of Ghanian club 'Hearts of Oak'.
Indian U-17 team's performance was more of hype than actual achievement on the field.
Brazil midfielder Kaka said he was not fully fit in the 1-0 quarter-final defeat to France at the World Cup.
Brazil striker Ronaldo equalled Gerd Mueller's World Cup finals record of 14 goals, scoring twice in the 4-1 win over Japan in Group F.
Both teams moved closer to their exit after a goalless draw.
Three first-half goals helped the World Cup winners overcome Nigeria for a place in the semi-finals in women's hockey tournament at the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad on Saturday.
The World Cup winners failed to turn up for their opening fixture against Nigeria at the Afro Asian Games.
Nigeria beat Bosnia 1-0 on Saturday to record their first World Cup finals victory since 1998 and condemn the European team to an early exit in their first appearance at the tournament.
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
Nigeria won the World under-17 championship for a record fourth time on Friday, overpowering holders Mexico 3-0 in the final in Abu Dhabi, helped by two defensive mistakes.
Five-times world champions Brazil plummeted further down the FIFA rankings as they hit a record low of 22nd place on Thursday, leaving them sandwiched between Ghana and Mali.
Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench and scored an opportunist goal which set Portugal on the way to a 2-0 win in Andorra on Saturday that maintained their chances of qualifying directly for the World Cup.
After defeating Mali 3-2 and New Zealand 4-2, the South American team, one of the favourites to lift the title, will be looking to dominate Turkey.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey says he has yet to reach an agreement with the Premier League club about his future. The Wales international, who joined the club in 2008, is in the final year of his contract.
Champions League competitors Schalke 04 have signed AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng on a four-year deal after the Ghana international passed his medical at the German club on Friday.
Rank-outsiders India may have a 'small percentage' of winning their tournament opener in the FIFA U-17 World Cup against what he expects to be an attacking USA team, coach Luis Norton de Matos said on Thursday.
World Cup hosts Brazil were made to work hard for a 2-0 win on Tuesday over a Zambia side whose coach quit last week and who were missing three players reportedly facing arrest in a bizarre club-versus-country row.
Oman made a late comeback to defeat India 2-1 in the opening Group E match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Joint-Qualifiers at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, on Thursday.
Tiny Cape Verde Islands catapulted themselves into surprise World Cup contention with a 2-1 victory away to South Africa.
Goalkeeper Moirangthem Dheeraj Singh was one of the top performers in India's 0-3 thrashing by the United States but he was a disappointed man following the loss in the campaign opener of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in New Delhi.
Yaya Toure looked more relieved than elated as he lifted the African Nations Cup for the first time.
FIFA will go ahead with its controversial decision to stage World Cup matches at midday in tropical venues, president Sepp Blatter said on Tuesday as soccer's governing body announced a bafflingly complex procedure for Friday's draw.
Looking back, the Indians had rubbed their hands in delight at the variety of marquee events at home the sporting calendar of 2017 offered, and they now look forward, with optimism and anticipation, to a challenging 2018.
When Michel Platini revamped the European Championship, turning the finals from a tough, lean 16-team tournament in 2012 into a flabby, 'roll up, anybody's welcome' 24-side affair in 2016, it was not surprising he ran into a blizzard of rebukes.
Steve Cooper's team remained calm in front of a 53,000-strong crowd as substitute Nya Kirby sealed the issue after their goalkeeper Curtis Anderson denied Hinata Kida.
A battle of contrasting football styles will be on view when classical Spain cross swords with a robust Mali in the semi-finals of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, in Navi Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Sports events produce a multitude of highly amusing and crazy celebrations. Individual and team players have various way of celebrating victory, a goal or point. Some do it with a high-five, blow a kiss, cartwheel or dance. And on the soccer field, it's a soccer ball baby!
Cameroon goalkeeper Charles Itandje made several sparkling saves to help his side force a 0-0 draw in Tunisia on Sunday in the first leg of their World Cup playoff.
A 55th minute Thomas Mueller goal gave Germany a 1-0 victory over the United States on Thursday but the result allowed both teams to progress to the second round of the World Cup. Germany topped Group G and will face the runner-up in Group H, while the United States finished second and will face Group H's winner.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The world champions finished 44 points clear of nearest rivals the Czech Republic in the rankings.
Ronaldo back for Man Utd but injured Shaw faces weeks out
With the year sprinting to a close, we bring you, in pictures, some of the best action from the sports world.
African footballers based at European clubs, especially those travelling back to the continent from international duty, began on Friday to feel the backlash from fears over the Ebola virus outbreak.
